Qibla · Minya Governorate
Qibla direction in Banī Mazār
To face the Kaaba in Banī Mazār, turn to 128.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (38.9° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,201 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Banī Mazār should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 128.9°, the Qibla of Banī Mazār. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 129° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Banī Mazār
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 38.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 128.9°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Banī Mazār.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Banī Mazār, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Banī Mazār to Mecca points to 130.9° (south-east), 2.0° away from the correct 128.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is not the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
How is the figure of 128.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Banī Mazār (28.4946° N, 30.8053° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Banī Mazār to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,201 km from Banī Mazār as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 984 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Banī Mazār travel to the Hijaz by road.
Clocks in Banī Mazār run 1 hour behind Mecca in winter and the same time as Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Banī Mazār rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Banī Mazār
On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Banī Mazār while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 08:24 local time.
The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Banī Mazār during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 08:24 | — |
| 15 January 2027 | 08:38 | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 09:00 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 09:19 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 09:38 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:55 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:15 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 10:31 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:05 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 12:21 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:30 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:33 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 12:27 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:12 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:53 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 11:26 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 11:01 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 10:32 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 10:08 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 08:42 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 08:26 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 08:15 | — |
| 15 December 2027 | 08:14 | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Banī Mazār: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Banī Mazār compared with other cities
Compared with Cairo, 180 km away, the Qibla in Banī Mazār is turned 7.4° further anticlockwise (128.9° against 136.2°), and Mecca is 86 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Maghāghah (17 km), prays towards 129.6°, a difference of 0.7°.
Across the 55 cities in Egypt on this site, the Qibla ranges from 111.3° in Aswān to 149.5° in Arish, a spread of 38.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Egypt.
Qibla in cities near Banī Mazār
Qibla in Banī Mazār: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Banī Mazār?
It is 128.9° from true north, which is south-east: 38.9° south of east.
How far is Banī Mazār from Mecca?
1,201 km in a straight line over the globe, and 984 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Banī Mazār?
On 365 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Egypt?
No. It ranges from 111.3° to 149.5° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 128.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.